Run Time

This is book you will read about an actress who is reading a screenplay about a writer who is reading a book about a woman who get scared shitless in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Have I lost you yet? Don't worry - it's not as complicated as it sounds. It's also probably not really a horror (although they address that in the book too).

I can see why this has received so many low ratings - it's very meta in its form - but I had a good time. I liked how the book (author) poked fun itself and the genre - almost like a 4th wall wink to the camera. Some people may call it pretentious and oh so blasé, but honestly I am not that clever - I kinda liked the story within the story within the.... well, you get what I mean.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Run Time. I previously listened to Catherine Ryan Howard's COVID lockdown thriller 56 Days and I knew I wanted to check this one out based on how much I liked it. Run Time did not disappoint. I throughly enjoyed the unique structure of this novel, interspersing sections of screenplay between chapters of regular narrative prose. A truly fresh take on the alternating timelines/POVs I often find tiresome in other books. Although a few minor aspects of the reveal/twist seemed strained to me, I nevertheless enjoyed the story very much. I've found that I enjoy listening to Irish crime novels, and other books set in locations removed from my own personal experience, far more that I enjoy reading them with my eyeballs due to the additional layer of detail and immersion added by the narrator. The readers for Run Time do not disappoint, making the Audible edition superior to the print in my personal opinion. I highly recommend Run Time to fans of thrillers and the film industry.